The ‘photography bug’ bites everyone at some point, it seems. Whether it’s a new camera, a new phone, or a vintage camera found in a tea-chest or inherited along the way, everyone has that moment when they think it might be fun to try their hand at the deceptively simple art of photographing things, people, and places. While most people know better than to imagine they’ll be able to simply pick up a camera and begin taking world-class photos, it’s not crazy to think that they might be able to ramp up to amateur status in a short time and perhaps beautify their own home with their own photos.
As most people soon discover, photography is incredibly easy to get into… and incredibly hard to become good at (becoming great is a whole other kettle of fish). Most people, sadly, give up quickly, and the camera (or camera App) gathers dust. Which is a terrible shame, because it’s actually quite easy to improve your photography skills without paying a cent. Here are some of the best suggestions for advancing to ‘skilled amateur’ status.
Free Online Classes
The Internet is a wondrous place where you can find photos of cats in costumes, videos of people falling in amusing ways, and dubious information about just about any medical condition you can imagine you have. One lesser-known use for the Internet is education – but there are a lot of absolutely free online courses out there, and some of them are specific to photography and how to improve your photography.
One of the best is Jerad Hill’s course on Udemy, for example. A course designed to teach the fundamentals of photography, it can be reviewed at your own pace and in your own time. Go back over concepts you’re struggling with, jump around – the course is high quality and is absolutely free.
Podcasts
Podcasts are all the rage these days, with the success of Serial bringing this old format back into the public’s focus. But podcasts have been there for years now, and some podcasts have been around long enough to have dozens or even hundreds of episodes by now – and some concentrate solely on photography and how to improve your skills.
One great free podcast in this vein is Jim Harmer’s ‘Improve Your Photography’ series, which is available for free on iTunes. This is a course that will help any photography enthusiast, at any level of experience, skill, or equipment, gain knowledge and ideas that will have a positive impact on their own photographic endeavours.
Photography is one of the great pleasures of modern life, and anyone who has a desire to pursue it as a form of artistic expression can improve at no cost. And when you’ve moved up to the next level and want to start showing off your work, click here and we’d be delighted to help you display your pieces.
